Golf club with pivoting head assembly

ABSTRACT

A golf club assembly includes a pivoting club head that facilitates the driving of a golf ball by virtue of pivoting motion and the effects of angular momentum. A hinge pivot assembly connects the club head with the hosel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The invention pertains to the field of golf clubs and their use, and, particularly, to mechanisms for coupling a shaft with a golf club head. More particularly, the mechanisms permit the club head to rotate or pivot with respect to the shaft.

[0003] 2. Statement of the Problem

[0004] Golf technology has progressed over the last few decades to provide additional materials and structures that enhance or facilitate the driving of golf balls through the use of clubs that are known as woods or irons. For example, driving distances may be enhanced through the use of long clubs having shafts made of graphite composite materials and large, lightweight club heads. In other instances, the club head design may be altered as, for example, in the addition of an elongated goose neck feature to the hosel region to increase an axial moment of inertia, as taught by GB 2,233,909, or the addition of a springy rod proximate the hosel, as taught by US 695,579.

[0005] A particular problem that golfers face is the problem of maintaining the club striking face in a perpendicular plane with respect to movement of the golf club head. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,617 teaches the use of a pivoting hosel assembly that permits the club head to spin about the axis of elongation in the shaft. The pivoting motion is restrained by wires within the shaft to adjust the position of the club striking face. This manner of restraining club head motion is difficult to implement because the swing of every golfer is different and because the character of the wires may change with use.

[0006] Continuing technological improvements have dramatically improved the capabilities of golfers, as compared to the days when a “wood” had a shaft made of wood. Nevertheless, these improvements have largely run their course, and there exists no prospect of obtaining substantial performance improvements from existing devices and materials.

SOLUTION

[0007] The present invention overcomes the problems that are outlined above and advances the art by providing a new class of pivoting club head mechanism that derives advantage from angular momentum for improved driving capability while simultaneously using the principle of angular momentum to position the club striking face in a proper operational orientation with respect to the club shaft.

[0008] The golf club assembly includes an elongated shaft, and a pivoting head assembly. The has a grip section at a first end and a second end remote from the first end. The pivoting head assembly includes a hosel having a socket coupled with the second end of the shaft leading to a first portion of a pivot assembly. The pivoting head assembly also includes a club head having a heel end and a second portion of the pivot assembly. The second portion of the pivot assembly is complimentary with the first portion of the pivot assembly for pivotal retention of the club head when the golf club is in use.

[0009] When the pivot assembly is a hinge assembly, the pivot assembly has a single degree of freedom of motion relative to the hosel, i.e., motion occurs in an arc about the hinge pivot axis. This pivot axis is preferably found in the same plane as the axis of elongation in the shaft, but the pivot axis may also be skewed or offset with respect to this plane to compensate for bending dynamics in the club shaft as the shaft is swung and other design considerations. In other embodiments, a ball and socket pivot assembly may be used to provide two or even three degrees of freedom.

[0010] The club head preferably includes a sole and a striking face. The sole preferably has a greater surface area than the striking face to enhance the effect of angular momentum of the club head as it is swung. Angular momentum is similarly enhanced by providing the second end of the club shaft remote from the grip section with an angular offset. The offset angle preferably ranges from about five to twenty degrees and is most preferably about fifteen degrees.

[0011] The golf club assembly is intended for use according to a method comprising the steps of addressing a golf ball, and swinging the shaft to connect the club head with the golf ball while permitting the club head to pivot. The method further includes monitoring progress of the golf ball as it proceeds for at least fifty, one hundred or two hundred yards as a direct consequence of the step of swinging the shaft.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012]FIG. 1 depicts an elevational view of a golf club assembly according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

[0013]FIG. 2 provides additional detail from a front perspective concerning a preferred pivoting head assembly for use in the golf club assembly shown in FIG. 1;

[0014]FIG. 3 depicts the pivoting head assembly of FIG. 2 from a top perspective; and

[0015]FIG. 4 depicts the golf club assembly of FIG. 1 in use as a golfer swings the golf club assembly against a golf ball.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] The preferred embodiments that are shown herein are nonlimiting in nature and are shown for purposes of illustrating preferred features and aspects of the invention.

[0017]FIG. 1 depicts a golf club assembly 100 including an elongated flexible shaft 102 and a pivoting head assembly 104. The shaft 102 itself may be any conventional shaft, but for purposes of illustrating a preferred example of one such shaft includes a first end having a grip section 106 and a second end 108 remote from the grip section 106. The second end 108 may be straight, but is preferably provided with an angular offset section 110 having an angular offset axis 112 that deviates by an angle 0 from the axis of elongation 114 that is presented by the club assembly at rest. The angle θ may be any angle, and preferably ranges from five to twenty degrees. A range of ten to fifteen degrees is more preferred, and the most preferred angle is about fifteen degrees.

[0018] The pivoting club head assembly 104 includes a hosel 116 and a club head 118 that are connected by a pivot assembly 120. The offset section 110 and hosel 116 combine to displace the club head 118 a distance D from the axis of elongation 114 in the shaft 102. The pivot assembly 120 may be any type of pivot, such as a ball and socket type of pivot having three degrees of rotational freedom, or the rotational freedom may be constrained, e.g., as by interference with hosel 116, to have two or even one degree of rotational freedom with respect to the hosel 116. In the most preferred embodiment, e.g., as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pivot assembly 120 is a hinge pivot assembly presenting a pivot axis 122 that constrains the motion of club head 118 to a single degree of freedom, i.e., in a planar arc, with respect to hosel 116. The pivot axis 122 is preferably parallel to the axis of elongation 114 in the shaft 102, but the pivot axis 112 may also be obliquely oriented to accommodate, for example, downward flexure in the offset section 110 or the bending of shaft 102 generally while the shaft is being swung. The degree of offset, accordingly, will vary with the type of material from which the shaft 102 is made. .

[0019]FIG. 2 provides additional detail with respect to the pivoting club head assembly 104. A portion of the hosel 116 has been removed to reveal a socket 200 for receipt and binding engagement with the offset section 110. The hosel 116 also has a first portion of the pivot assembly 120 which, as shown in FIG. 1, is a first hinge portion 202. The first hinge portion 202 has a recess 204 for receiving a complimentary portion of club head 118 in the form of a second portion of the hinge assembly, namely, a second hinge portion 206. The club head 118 includes a striking face 208 with lining 210 to prevent slippage of the club face when hitting a golf ball.

[0020]FIG. 3 depicts the pivoting cub head assembly 104 from a top perspective. The club head 118 is preferably formed as a pair of connected metal plates including the striking plate 300 and an underlying sole 302. The sole 302 is flattened and occupies a greater surface area than does the striking plate 300 for long range driving applications. Alternatively, a metal-composite laminate may be used in place of a metal head. The striking face 208 of striking head 300 may be rotated at any angle to show more or less surface area of the striking surface 208, as for example is conventionally done by canting the pitch in a progression of irons such as a four iron, a seven iron, and a pitching wedge.

[0021] An optional, but preferred, spring detent assembly 306 may be provided to stabilize against motion of the club head 118 relative to the hosel 116. Absence of the spring detent assembly 306 does not interfere with the operation of the club 102, however, it may be disconcerting to some golfers that the club head is capable of wobbling and rattling within its arc of free rotation if the spring detent assembly is absent as the golfer manipulates the club. The spring should not be SO strong that it interferes with the club head motion that is shown below in FIG. 4.

[0022]FIG. 4 depicts club 102 in sequential movement in its intended environment of use, which is as the club is being such for effect against a golf ball. The effect of pivot assembly 120 upon the club head 118 is such that the plane of striking face 208 is perpendicular to the arc 400 of motion that the club head 118 occupies as the club 102 is swung. This perpendicularity exists at all points 402, 404, 406 and 408 on the arc, whether the club head 118 is accelerating with the concave configuration 410 of shaft 102 early in the swing or decelerating with the convex configuration 412 of shaft 102 late in the swing.

[0023] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the foregoing discussion presents the preferred embodiments only, and that elements of the discussion may be subjected to ordinary modifications by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of what is being taught. For example, the striking surface of club head 118 may be provided with any geometric shape, and the club head 118 may be forward weighted at a variety of locations according to this design to prevent excessive rotation when the club head 118 strikes a golf ball. Similarly, the configuration of the angular offset section 110 and hosel 116 may be varied to adjust the distance D according to club design specifications. Accordingly, the inventor hereby states his intention to rely upon the Doctrine of Equivalents to protect his full rights in the invention. 

I claim:
 1. A golf club comprising: an elongated shaft having a grip section at a first end and a second end remote from the first end, the shaft presenting an axis of elongation; a hosel including a socket coupled with the second end and a first portion of a pivot assembly; and a club head including a heel end having a second portion of the pivot assembly complimentary with the first portion of the pivot assembly for pivotal retention of the club head when the golf club is in use.
 2. The golf club as set forth in claim 1 wherein the pivot assembly has a single degree of freedom of motion relative to said hosel.
 3. The golf club as set forth in claim 1 wherein the pivot assembly is a hinge assembly, the first portion of the pivot assembly includes a first hinge portion, and the second portion of the pivot assembly includes a second hinge portion.
 4. The golf club as set forth in claim 1 wherein the hinge assembly pivots about a pivot axis in substantially the same plane as the axis of elongation in the shaft.
 5. The golf club as set forth in claim 1 wherein the pivot assembly has two degrees of freedom relative to said hosel.
 6. The golf club as set forth in claim 1 wherein the pivot assembly has three degrees of freedom relative to said hosel.
 7. The golf club assembly as set forth in claim 6 wherein the pivot assembly is a ball and socket.
 8. The golf club assembly as set forth in claim 1 wherein the club head includes a sole and a striking face, the sole having a greater surface area than the striking face.
 9. The golf club assembly as set forth in claim 8 wherein the sole and the striking face are substantially formed as plates connected at an angle.
 10. The golf club as set forth in claim 1 wherein the second end of the shaft is offset by an angle with respect to the axis of elongation in the shaft.
 11. The golf club as set forth in claim 10 wherein the angle ranges from five to twenty degrees.
 12. A method of golfing with use of an elongated shaft having a club head and a pivot coupling the club head with the shaft, the method comprising the steps of: addressing a golf ball; swinging the shaft to connect the club head with the golf ball while permitting the club head to pivot; and monitoring progress of the golf ball as it proceeds for at least fifty yards as a direct consequence of the step of swinging the shaft.
 13. The method as set forth in claim 12 wherein the step of monitoring progress of the golf ball includes monitoring such progress for at least one hundred yards.
 14. The method as set forth in claim 12 wherein the step of monitoring progress of the golf ball includes monitoring such progress for at least two hundred yards.
 15. The method as set forth in claim 12 wherein the pivot is a hinge assembly and the step of swinging the shaft includes permitting the club head to pivot in a single degree of freedom with respect tot the shaft as restricted by the hinge assembly.
 16. In a golf club head including a hosel and a striking face, the improvement comprising a pivot assembly connecting the hosel with the striking face.
 17. The golf club head as set forth in claim 16 wherein the pivot assembly is a hinge assembly. 